Holstein Cow

I have always wanted to spend some time painting cows. Don’t know why. Perhaps it is that I am happiest when painting animals. This lovely lady lives to the east of me. Every so often I drive out in the country east of here hoping to snap a picture of the Amish and the teams of horses. They are always too far off for my camera capabilities. This Holstein, however, was very near the fence and didn’t budge when I got out of the car. Such luck!

I have been experimenting with a limited palette I saw in an article, recently, and like it very much. The colors are Winsor & Newton tube paints: transparent yellow, permanent rose, Winsor blue(green shade), Prussian blue, Winsor green(blue shade), Winsor violet and burnt sienna. I am always looking for combinations of limited palettes so my students don’t need to purchase so many colors to get started. This list seems to work pretty well. 🙂

I actually did the background, first, on this one. I splattered some masking fluid with a small brush and stroked in some lines with masking fluid and worked the background wet in wet with a very light wash of color. I thought keeping it light might help how the darks appeared on her. I will have to look for a sheep reference on wet canvas. I’d love to try one or two or three? Thank-you for your support and comments!

Hi Tacy. When I was a few years older than you some neighbors had ten dairy cows that they milked. They were all Holsteins like this. They are wise. Most of the time they were very content, also. They can kick but most of the ones I was around were very gentle. Thank-you for the comment. 🙂

Thank-you, Ryan for noticing those eyes! That’s the way she looked at me as though she was saying, “Sure, lady, take my picture. I’ll stay right like this for you and not move a muscle.”. I was so grateful. You mention the ears. I have a confession. I was working away at shaping and mixing the tones and that started to happen. I couldn’t get rid of it because I liked it so much. Truly I think I went furthur toward discovering black, but it’s so hard to let go of the fun things water does to watercolor.

I grew up on a farm so I love the beauty of farm animals. We raised black angus beef cattle which have gorgeous faces (the arabians of the cattle world!) and coloring. Beautiful painting and I love the way the colors merge and mingle. Very interesting palette. I love the Winsor colors and their purity.

Thank-you, Linda. Now, that would be a challenge! Painting a black angus. This is the closest I’ve been to creating black with my colors and have hints of the colors I used bleeding off. The last one I tried was the dachshund: https://lesliepaints.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/sammy-and-hippo/
Thanks for mentioning them. I’m going to save that as an idea! 🙂

Such a pretty girl she is, with long lashes and soulful eyes. I love cows… I particularly like the play of color in her ear that makes it transparent and the whole purple/green interplay you got going there. Your colors are a matter of envy, as always :).

Thank-you so much, Alex. I used the transparent yellow, permanent rose and prussian blue to define her shape. I did my mixing on the paper and it was interesting to learn that the black came out different every time I layered those three colors in a different order. You might want to try mixing those three colors on a piece of scrap watercolor paper. It is rather amazing to watch. I left the ears like that. That is one example of why I am fascinated by watercolor.

I like how you painted the cow. Many times I wonder if real or not your watercolors are 😉
You have lot of imagination and I like that you use all the colors without having fear of it. I know people who really afraid of different colors…don’t know why.

Thanks, Kokot.I agree with you. Value is of utmost importance.If I think about it, she could be a pink cow and all the values of pink! I thank you for noticing that I concentrated on the lights and darks of it.

I love this! The muted color scheme in the background, as well as pushing the cow into the corner, makes for an eye-catching focal point. You captured a great expression, as well. Living in a city in the Midwest has its benefits: a great array of subjects!

Thank-you, Bree. You know your composition. The photo actually had her placed dead center and I knew I had to change that or add some other things going on like the barn or a tree or something. Instead I tried to place her near eye near a focal point area and lighten the background to “pop” her dark form.

Another wonderful painting of animal. Love this gentle creature, I did see a Holstein cow back in 2006 when visiting NZ at the time. Really like the hair coming out from the side of the mouth and nose and the contrast of the dark body againt the light.

There is a beauty in this painting that I’m convinced comes from your love of the subject. When we engage with the painting and its subject we feel a little of what you feel about the cow. It’s delightful. I particularly like the way you have painted the sunlight in the background.

Thank-you, Stephen. I’m trying two new things. Working with a limited palette and achieving black from mixtures of other colors, mixed on the paper. Your comment about the sheen on the black skin just made my day! Thank-you. 🙂

I saw this post so late! I am in love with this cow.Your limited palette has worked. Painting a cow has been on my wishlist too. One of these days Leslie , I’ll do it. Your painting tempts me too much.

I must be getting pretty sneaky to have slipped a big black and white cow right past you, Raji. 🙂 Honestly, I didn’t mean to. I will watch for your cow painting. Was sorry to hear about your scanner. I keep visiting. We will all still be here when you get up and running again. Can’t wait to see the pastel.

Thank-you, Littlelynx. I like this palette too. I used it for the previous post and for the robins and Sarah’s sheep. They all look so different by how I mix the colors and what I choose to be dominant. It has been great fun.